International consultant to undertake review from gender perspective of the draft mid-term National Action Plan for the implementation of the Cross-sectoral Strategy on Developing Parental Abilities and Competencies 2016-2022

Advertised on behalf of :

Location :

Home based

Application Deadline :

08-Mar-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Post Level :

International Consultant

Languages Required :

English

Starting Date :(date when the selected candidate is expected to start)

15-Mar-2018

Duration of Initial Contract :

Up to 15 working days

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 15 working days within a one-month assignment

Background

Positive and supportive parenting is essential for the physical and mental development and well-being of children from early years, throughout childhood and adolescence and into adulthood. Girls and boys who grow in a secure, loving and nurturing home environment are better able to withstand life’s challenges and achieve their full potential. Consistent positive parenting helps to develop strong self-control, reduces risks and builds the resilience to cope with setbacks and has long-term benefits for children along their life cycle, communities and the country as a whole. In contrast, research proves that poor parenting practices are associated with adolescent emotional and behavioural problems, and can lead to long-term negative effects for society at large.

UNICEF supports the Government of the Republic of Moldova in the on-going reforms of the education, health and child protection sectors through provision of technical assistance in the elaboration and revision of developmental policies. In order to improve care-givers’ knowledge and skills on positive parenting, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECR), with the UNICEF support, developed a cross-sectoral Strategy on Developing Parental Abilities and Competencies 2016-2021, which was officially approved in July 2016. The Strategy aims at developing and ensuring the functionality of an integrated and coherent cross-sectoral national system for the development of parental skills and competences and assigns responsibilities to different government institutions, such as Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, as well as local public authorities. Following the adoption of the strategy, UNICEF is supporting the development of mid-term National Action Plan on Positive Parenting 2018-2022 which presents a roadmap to implement the Strategy. The Action Plan is in line with international practices and the Council of Europe recommendations on positive parenting.

UN Women closely cooperates with the government, civil society, and private sector to advance social, economic and political rights and opportunities for women and girls, placing special focus on those from marginalized groups. UN Women supported the development of the National Strategy on Gender Equality (NSGE) for 2017-2021 and its associated Action Plan, which was adopted by the government in April 2017. The strategy aims to advance gender equality in a wide range of policy areas including political participation, social protection, labour market, health, education, the peace and security agenda, climate change and overall policy making and budgeting. It has specific objectives to raise public awareness on gender stereotypes and their harmful effects, to advance non-violent communication among children, youth and in the media, as well as to address the low participation of men in the process of raising and educating children and caring for family members.

Despite the progress made at the normative and policy levels, in Moldovan society patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted negative stereotypes still persist regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the public and private life. These are root causes for gender inequalities that are present in the political, social and economic arenas, as well as for unequal distribution of roles and power relations within the household, and gender-based violence which affects women and girls from all strata of Moldovan society. Harmful social norms affect the way mothers and fathers raise and educate their children and often result in perpetuating a cycle of inequality and discrimination. Individual attitudes and behaviours pertaining to gender relations and norms are established in childhood, adolescence in particular, and the family is a key influence. The Action Plan to implement the Strategy on Developing Parental Abilities and Competencies presents an opportunity to ensure that holistic approach is taken to support the skills of parents, both men and women, to promote gender equality and non-violence in their parenting practices. This in turn is expected to have a long-term positive impact on the well-being of children in their overall life cycle, communities and societies at large.

Aiming at advancing gender equality inside and outside of the family with focus on parental abilities, skills, and practices, gender mainstreaming should be ensured in the draft inter-sectoral Action Plan on Parenting.

For this purpose, UN Women and UNICEF plan to recruit an international consultant to support the MECR in reviewing the draft mid-term National Action Plan on Positive Parenting 2018-2022 from a gender perspective and proposing specific change.

For detailed TOR please check the following link http://sc.undp.md/jobdetails2/1689/ .

Duties and Responsibilities

Under direct supervision and guidance of UN Women and UNICEF relevant programme staff and in close collaboration with the MECR, the international expert is expected to conduct a review through gender perspective of the draft National Action Plan for the implementation of the Cross-sectoral Strategy on Developing Parental Abilities and Competencies, 2016-2022 and to provide recommendations on gender mainstreaming and gender equality specific activities and indicators.

Tasks:

It is expected that the national expert will perform the following tasks.

In-depth review of the Cross-sectoral Strategy on Developing Parental Abilities and Competencies, 2016-2022 and the draft mid-term Action Plan for its implementation to identify possible revisions and additions that will strengthen the gender equality perspective; Review of other relevant national strategic documents (National Strategy and Action Plan on Gender Equality, National Strategy on Child Protection, National Action Plan on Human Rights, etc.), CEDAW, CRC, UPR and international treaty body recommendations to the Republic of Moldova and relevant studies on gender equality in the country, as well as international good practices on gender sensitive policy frameworks aimed at strengthening good parental practices;

Based on the above review, provide recommendations on how to mainstream gender equality into the Draft Action Plan and on additional activities and indicators that can be added in order to enhance parental skills and practices to disrupt rigid gender roles and stereotypes, to foster an understanding of gender equality within and outside the household, on consent, respectful relationships, preventing gender-based and sexual violence, promoting positive ideas about masculinity and femininity and equal aspirations of children and youth, that would address root causes of gender-based discrimination and inequalities later in life.

Provide a set of questions to be taken into account and addressed during the upcoming mid-term review of the Strategy on Developing Parental Abilities and Competencies, 2016-2022 that will ensure that the mid-term review of the Strategy fully takes into account the gender perspective.

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity

Integrity

Professionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues

Accountability

Creative Problem Solving

Effective Communication

Inclusive Collaboration

Stakeholder Engagement

Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

Mature judgment and initiative;

Ability to think out-of-the-box;

Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams;

Ability to work under pressure against strict deadlines;

Ability to present complex issues persuasively and simply;

Displays cultural, gender, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master Degree in social studies, gender studies, public policy, development studies and/or another field related to the area relevant for the assignment;

Complementary studies in gender equality will be an advantage;

Other formal education relevant for the assignment.

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years of experience in the area of gender equality, which includes provision of consultancy and technical advice services to public institutions related to gender equality and gender mainstreaming; Proven experience in carrying out gender analysis of policy documents, strategies, plans.

Work experience in the region of CEE/CIS will be an asset;

Experience in working with UN Women, UNICEF or other UN Agencies will be an asset.

Language skills:

Fluency in verbal & written English;

UN WOMEN and UNICEF apply fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

UN WOMEN and UNICEF are committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their online applications by 8 March 2018 with the following documents.

Letter of Intent to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position;

Duly filled Personal History Form P11 and the CV, including records on past experience in similar projects/ assignments and specific outputs obtained; P11 can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;

Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the task specified in Terms of References. The Financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate). Please see ANNEX I and ANNEX II.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, scan your documents into one single file.

Qualified women candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

If you are experiencing difficulties with online job applications, please contact jobs.help@undp.org.